Everyday I’d say a prayer and I’d get on him and you could just feel the love that he had. Hank took such good care of me, honestly. For me, getting to watch them and see how smart they are, and how loving, and how they never want to hurt one of their owners. We would do that for our schedule because at the end of the day, these are creatures and they have a mind of their own and we really need to take care of them. The nice thing about this film is that when the horses were tired and they weren’t into filming, and they just wanted to go back and eat an apple in their trailers, we would call it quits for the day. My favorite thing I learned about horses is just getting to watch them and see their minds just the way that they work. What is your most favorite thing you learned about working with horses from this film? On my last day, I said to him, “I hope you always think of me like your second mom.” I don’t think he really liked his name in the movie. And the horse named Hank, who I absolutely fell in love with. When I wasn’t filming I was just so fascinated with them. For me, I think she’s almost happy for this film because I get to re-discover and nurture these creatures and learn about them.
Your poor mother! The things you put her through! That’s definitely when my mom had a heart attack. My hat flew off and I was like “YEE-HAW!” I was like a real rodeo girl. I remember thinking when we’re at the gates and we’re all holding our flags and we do the drills for that scene, and we’re at the arena, that was my first time really holding a flag and you only have one hand on the reins. I got to carry the flag which was quite heavier than I imagined. I did! That was our first day filming actually. And they really took such good care of me.Īnd you got to ride in the 89’ers Parade! And you got to carry the flag! The entire crew, by the end of it, had so much appreciation for them. They’re hauling butt, doing these tricks.
I always say that the amount of speed they’re going at in this movie does not give it justice as to how fast they’re going in real life.
I had so much fun! It wasn’t like full running, but I stood up and walked me around. We’re not showing the insurance company these pictures, are we? Įxactly! I did it all at my own risk. I went up to Tim and the producer and said, “Look at this! Look what I did!” And their jaws dropped. I’m doing like an Indian Castaway too, where I’m totally off and I have one of my legs twisted and one of my arms on the saddle and I’m hanging off the horse. But, listen listen listen!!! During lunch break, the producers and everyone was there and I went up to one of the incredible riders and I said, “Would I be able to do it on your horse during lunch?” So I go, and she puts me on her horse and I DID A HIPPODROME ON HER HORSE! She teaches me! My mom’s taking photos.
Did you actually get to do The Hippodrome stunt? There are some really cool trick riding stunts in the film, including the famous Hippodrome which we see a partial frame of you doing. She’d be chasing after me yelling, “Doesn’t Bailee need a helmet on?” It was so great! But I definitely think she died about 5 times during the filming. I think she had about 50 heart attacks every day. Now having seen the film and knowing your mom was there while you were filming, I have to ask you – Did your mother have a heart attack while you were on the horse?
In fact, I ‘ve already watched it twice. This is a lovely little film that I absolutely love. Always wonderful to get together with Bailee and her mom, she grinned from ear to ear the entire time and really let her little girl enthusiasm shine through as we chatted like girlfriends about hair color, hair cuts (which Bailee only dreams about doing, so don’t worry about her flowing mane disappearing!), being a cowgirl and a horse named Hank. I promised here then that I would definitely review the film this year but then I got an added bonus with the film’s release when Bailee made her way to Los Angeles for an interview. Her excitement was palpable and her face lit up like a Christmas tree when she told me about getting to ride horses, hang out in barns and for once, getting to be a little girl. When I spoke with Bailee Madison last year during the press tour for Don ‘t Be Afraid of the Dark, she had just completed filming of Cowgirls ‘N Angels.